


I Love You A Latte

by Iago_The_Backstabber



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Lian Yu Island, Babbling Felicity Smoak, Cute Oliver Queen, F/M, Modern AU, POV Felicity Smoak, number neighbors au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iago_The_Backstabber/pseuds/Iago_The_Backstabber
Summary: In which Felicity falls into what's most likely a catfish trap and becomes friends with her Number Neighbour Olivia. She alsoaccidentallybecomes friends with the infamous Oliver Queen.Oh, and they're the same person.
Relationships: Oliver Queen & Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 10
Kudos: 112





	I Love You A Latte

Felicity Smoak was a tech nerd. But she was _not_ a tech nerd who partook in the latest internet trends, especially those which were stupid and pointless and almost _definitel_ y dangerous.

Which was why she didn't participate in the new 'Number Neighbour' trend which was basically texting someone with the same number as you except the last digit which was one more or less than your number's last digit. It was stupid and pointless and most definitely dangerous.

So while everybody was posting screenshots of their texts with their Number Neighbors on Facebook and Instagram, she ignored them all and continued doing what she always did - her job in the I.T. department at Queen Consolidated.

And she did just that - until her Number Neighbour texted her.

In hindsight, she should've seen it coming. Just because she didn't believe in stupid internet trends that were obviously catfishing hotspots doesn't mean others didn't. So she was working on some new project when she got a message alert on her phone.

Felicity was paranoid. She really was. Every time she got a message or a call on her phone, her brain assumed the worst and she would go to her phone completely believing that someone had died a horrible death. Maybe she wasn't paranoid - she was just pessimistic in the worst way possible. Which was why she tried to pick up all her calls and look at all her messages as soon as they came - just in case.

Anyway, when she opened the text and saw the unknown number, she was confusedbecause the number who had texted her was the exact same except for the last digit and she hadn't seen that in the beginning and was like ' _what the hell_ ' because she was sure she tripping.

Once she did get to know, however, she internally groaned. Because of course, they had found her. She opened the text message and read the message:

_11:32 am_

_Hey, there number neighbour! Nice to meet ya :)_

She rolled her eyes. Classic catfish bait. They had even put a _smiley face_. Before she could delete the number, the number sent her another message:

_11:35 am_

_Sorry about that. That was my little sister, partaking in the newest fad or whatever. Sorry again._

The person was obviously lying to get on her good side. But on second thought, if it was a creepy old stalker, they would keep bugging her if she didn't reply. So Felicity Smoak, the super genius who went to MIT, had the stupidest idea ever. She decided to make polite but dry conversation with this stranger so they would get bored and leave her alone. 

Yep, she was full of bad ideas. 

_11:36 am_

_Hi. I don't really take part in these things._

Dry enough, right? But of course, as fate would have it, the person replied.

_11:36 am_

_Yeah, me either._

Okay, sure. She was finding this to be horribly confusing. But this whole thing wasn't really her priority right now. She put her phone again and began to work.

Her 'Number Neighbour' didn't text her after that for the whole day. Or the day after. Or the day after that. But on the day after _that_. Basically three days later. And it was on accident.

_5:00 pm_

_Speedy, please don't be late._

_Mom will KILL us._

When she saw the message, she was confused. Until:

_5:02 pm_

_Oh god, sorry. That was meant for my sister. I saved your number as 'The Stranger' and that's pretty close to her name and I accidentally clicked on your name when I was searching it up in my contacts._

Right. The imaginary sister. This was obviously the famous not-so-accidental-accident. Hell, she had used it before - purposely sending something to someone and telling them that it was meant for someone else. But she had to keep up her 'dry scheme'.

_5:03 pm_

_No problem._

There. Full stops after phrases were as dry as you could get. And maybe the person was finally done with making indirect conversations because they finally got the balls enough to ask:

_5:04 pm_

_Yeah. Anyway, I was thinking, could we be, like, virtual pen pals or whatever? Not trying to sound stalkerish but it is a trend for a reason, right?_

Definitely a catfisher. But you know how you suddenly get this rebellious thing in you sometimes and you decide ' _you know what? YOLO_ ' and do something stupid? Well, Felicity did just that.

_5:05 pm_

_Sure!_

She was stupid but she decided that if everyone was doing it, she could too(which she did not believe under normal circumstances. Ever. But her brain was dying, she knew it).

_5:06 pm_

_But before that, I just want to make sure you're not like 13 or anything. Scratch that, don't ever tell strangers your age. You know what? I can't believe I suggested this pen pals thing. It's the worst idea ever. Block my number and live your life._

What just happened? Catfishers didn't normally discourage people from talking to strangers. Was this person really a catfisher? And before she could think it through, she texted back.

_5:06 pm_

_Relax, I'm not a minor. Fully grown adult. Anyway, my name is Felix._

She was dumb, but she wasn't _so_ dumb. 

_5:07 pm_

_Hey, Felix. I'm Olivia._

They made polite conversation after that and found out that they were both big fans of 'New Girl'. Felicity just knew something horribly wrong would happen soon. She just knew it.

Olivia turned out to be a pretty good friend. Whether or not her name was really Olivia, Felicity didn't know. But they talked every day without getting too personal, which was fine with Felicity. She really didn't want personal.

And that was probably the last peaceful moment before everything went to shit. She was QC during a break and was reading a very interesting book when her brain decided that it _needed_ coffee. Another coffee more like.

Not taking her eyes off her book, she navigated her way toward the coffee maker and made herself a cup of coffee. Anybody who knew her (and they all did on the IT floor) knew to move away when Felicity Smoak was walking with a mug of coffee in hand and while doing something else. 

Which was why Felicity was so annoyed when she bumped into somebody. Her annoyance quickly turned into embarrassment as she spilt all her coffee on said somebody. Frack. He cursed, jumping away.

She quickly began rambling her apologies before she looked up at the guy and her jaw. Just. Dropped. 

Because standing before her was none other than Oliver Queen, son of the people who owned the company she worked in. And she had just spilt her very hot coffee all over his probably-more-expensive-than-her-apartment-rent-suit(her jaw also dropped because that man could rock a suit, coffee covered or not, but she wasn't going to admit that, was she?).

"Oh frack! I mean, oh no! I'm so, so, _so_ , sorry, Mr Queen. I was reading, and I didn't know you were there - I mean _of course_ I didn't know you were there, I was reading. Not that I'm saying that you're so tiny that you're practically invisible. Which you're not. You're big. I mean - your muscles. Your muscles are big. Not that - You know what? I'm going to stop talking. Sorry," She finished her rambling with a deep breath and a red, red face.

What was wrong with her?!

She expected him to blow up at her and probably fire her or something, but he looked more amused than anything. And a little confused.

"Um, Ms..?" He probed.

"Smoak. Felicity Smoak," She mumbled, still embarrassed by her little episode.

"Well Ms Smoak," He started and Felicity waited for the words "you're fired" but they didn't come. Instead, "Mr Queen was my father. Call me Oliver," he said with a smile.

Wait, what? Her eyes widened. Before she could say anything, he continued.

"And it's alright. At least this gives me a reason to go back home," He shrugged, still smiling.

Seriously, what was going on?

And because she was the dumbest idiot to ever exist, "Sooo, you're not going to like pretend everything's okay and then get me fired, right?" She asked nervously.

He stared at her for a second and then burst out laughing. "No, I am not gonna do that," He promised.

Felicity bit her lip, relieved. "Okay then. Thank you. And sorry. Uh, see you around," She said. 'see you around'? Why would she see _Oliver Fracking Queen_ around?

"Oh, I sure hope so," He replied, winking, and walked away.

Wait, what?!  
  


That night, Olivia texted her.

_10:34 pm_

_Hi, so something interesting happened today_

Huh. So she texted her back.

_10:34 pm_

_Oh rlly? Me too!_

She waited for a minute before Olivia's response came.

_10:35 pm_

_Hahaha. I'll go first. I met someone real cute._

What a coincidence! She quickly replied back:

_10:35 pm_

_No kidding! Me too. I met someone real hot._

Olivia's response came a minute later.

_10:36 pm_

_That's funny. Anyway, got to turn in for the night. Long day tomorrow, night!_

She internally smiled. Olivia was definitely a middle-aged woman. She texted her back:

_10:36 pm_

_Good night!_

Keeping her phone aside, she began looking for movies to watch.  
  


The next morning, she was in her workspace, reading up some real interesting tech stuff, when Oliver Queen walked in.

Because Felicity would never change, she did not notice him. Not until he cleared his throat. She jumped.

"Don't you ever knock?" She asked, immediately feeling stupid. Why _would_ he knock?

He smiled. "Felicity, this is the IT department. Not the ladies' room," He said, laughter in his voice.

She managed a smile. "So, um, why're you here?" She asked.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out a laptop and placed it on her desk.

"I split a latte on it," He said.

She blinked and looked at the laptop. It definitely did not look like a latte had been spilt on it. She looked up at him for a second and they stared at each other a moment before-

"No, you didn't," She said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, I did!" He said, sounding defensive.

She tilted her head in an ' _are-you-bullshitting-me_ ' way and he sighed.

"No, I didn't" He admitted.

"Then why are you here?" She asked.

"Maybe I wanted to see you, " He said nonchalantly, shrugging.

"What?" She asked, surprised. 

"You're fun. And cute. And I found myself thinking about you a lot since yesterday. And you keep making me smile. So, uh, would you like to get a coffee sometime?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Felicity's jaw had dropped somewhere in the middle of his little speech. _Oliver Queen_ thought she was fun. And cute. And he was asking her on a date. A _date_.

"Are you...are you asking me out?" She asked.

"Yep."

Felicity had heard all about Oliver Queen's playboy days. He would sleep his way through Star City with his looks and his charm and supposedly he had changed since his father, Robert Queen, had died five years ago, but she didn't know. And she certainly did not want end up like those other girls, as nice as he was. Or as hot as he was. 

"Uh," She said with a nervous laugh. "Oliver, I'm, uh, flattered. But I have to say no," She apologised.

His face fell, and she hated herself for it, but she did what she had to do. 

"Why?" He asked. 

"You're Oliver Queen and I'm well, me. Also, I work for your parents' company and it's not right," She lied. While it was true, it was the last thing on her mind.

He looked so disappointed. "Alright, I understand. I'm not going to pester you or anything. Have a great day, Felicity," He said with a small smile before walking away.

And for some reason, it broke her heart.

_8:17 pm_

_Hey Olivia, how's it going?_

_8:20 pm_

_Hi Felix. It's going bad. Sorry, I really have to go._

Felicity didn't see Oliver for a week. Or for two. And for some reason, it saddened her. On top of that, her number neighbour Olivia had been kind of distinct and Felicity felt like she was really losing the whole 'happy week game'(Not that it existed).

But that wasn't it. No. Because Felicity Smoak's life _sucked_. She had two whole weeks to think about the Oliver Queen incident and she had so many mixed feelings. Why couldn't she just let it go?

She had talked to him once for 5 minutes and he'd asked her on a date and she'd said no. Seemed pretty straight forward. But she couldn't forget him. And it was stupid, yes, but it didn't _feel_ stupid.

And then he came. He walked to her desk and sat down in front of her and placed a bag in front of her.

She raised her eyebrows. "What's this?" She asked.

"Food," He answered.

"Why?" She asked.

"You've been working for hours and you didn't come out for a lunch break. You must be hungry," He said, shrugging.

"You've been watching me?" She questioned.

"Not stalking-watching," He said hastily.

"That's not an answer," She said.

She turned the bag and saw that it was Big Belly Burger. "How did you know I like Big Belly?" She asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "The last time I walked into your office, I saw a Big Belly bag," He replied.

"Huh"

She opened it and saw that there was a burger and some fries. She took it out and placed it on her desk. Opening the packet of fries, she offered it to him.

He shook his head. "You eat. You've got be hungry," He said.

"Yeah, not really," She said, holding up her packet of work Oreos.

He frowned. "Those have got to be bad for you," He said.

"But Big Belly is good?" she asked challengingly.

He did that stare thing and then said, "Touche" and picked up a fry.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before-

"So why didn't you stop by? Not that I expect you to or anything, but it would have been nice," She asked quietly. She had probably overstepped but it was too late now.

"I thought you wouldn't want to see me," He said, not looking at her.

"Why would you think that?" She asked, confused.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

She sighed and then she smiled. "Well, you were wrong. You're a good man, Oliver Queen." She said.

He smiled at her and looked at her and their eyes made contact. And they looked into each others' eyes just a bit too long for it to be normal.

Before she knew it, they were both leaning in, slowly. Her eyes started to hood.

They were so close, so close when a bang sounded from outside and they sprung apart, turning toward the noise.   
Apologies were heard from outside, but Felicity didn't care.

No, all she cared about was that Oliver and she had almost kissed. She cleared her throat and crumbled up the burger wrapper.

"You should, uh, get going," She said, swallowing.

He was looking at her strangely. And then he got up and smiled.

"Night, Felicity," He said.

"Night Oliver," She mumbled, sure she was blushing. "And Oliver? Thank you for dinner," She said.

He gave her a soft smile. "You don't ever need to thank me, Felicity," He said, and with that, he walked away.

And as he walked away did Felicity realise that she had completely and absolutely fallen for Oliver Queen.  
  


She saw him the next day at the QC lobby. He looked at her and gave her a smile and looked like he was about to walk to her when a man came out of nowhere and began a conversation with him and pulled him away to god-knows-where.

Anyway, Olivia was more chipper than usual. She kept sending Felicity memes and GIFs and Felicity found that maybe her game of 'happy week' was not completely lost yet.

The next day, Felicity was working on a project when Oliver walked in again.

She looked up and grinned. "Hey, you," She said.

He gave her an easy grin back. She expected it to be pretty awkward between them after the almost-kiss(which she could not stop thinking about, by the way) but it was easy with them. So far.

"Hi, sorry about yesterday. Mr Wilkins can be a handful," He apologised, sitting down in front of her desk.

"No problem," She said chuckling. Wow, this was proving to be way too easy.

"So is this is a casual visit or..." She left her sentence hanging.

He looked embarrassed for a moment before he placed a laptop in front of her. "I spilt a latte on my laptop," He said.

Seriously?!

"Oliver!" She reprimanded. "Really?"

They were doing this again?

"No really, I swear!" He exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, she picked it up and almost dropped the laptop.

"It's sticky!" She complained.

"Yeah, that's because there's latte all over it," Oliver answered.

She gingerly opened it and sure enough, she could see that some of it had seeped into the keys.

"So you aren't lying," She decided.

"Nope."

She sighed. "Right, okay," She said and handed him a post-it notepad. "This laptop is in horrible condition. It'll take some time. Write down your number. I'll text you when it's done," She said.

He wrote down his number and got up. "Thank you, Felicity. I've gotta rush," He said.

But Felicity wasn't listening. She was staring at his number. It was the exact replica of her number except for the last digit. And it was also very familiar.

"Olivia?" She voiced out loud just as he was about to go. He froze and turned toward her.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"Olivia. _You're_ Olivia!" She exclaimed, laughing a bit. She couldn't believe it. Of all the coincidences. She was shocked, of course, but it was also...happy.

He blinked and then, "Felix?" He asked. She nodded and he laughed. "Wow, what a coincidence!" He said through his laughter.

"I thought you were a middle-aged woman!" She exclaimed, laughing. She still couldn't believe it.

He was about to answer when his phone rang. He picked it up, nodded and then hung up.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

He nodded. "Just really gotta go. See you later," He said and rushed out.

_6:15 pm_

_Hey there, Oliver. Still can't believe it though. Anyway, your computer's gone. You'll have to buy a new one._

_6:23 pm_

_Hey, Felicity. Thanks for trying though. And I can't believe it either. And hey listen - I've got something to tell you._

_6:23 pm_

_Yeah, go ahead_

_6:24 pm_

_So we almost kissed. And we didn't really talk about it. And then after that, I found out that my online friend is actually you and I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something. So what I'm trying to say is that I would like a second chance?_

_Felicity Smoak, would you like to go out with me?_

Felicity froze. And then she smiled. This was _happening_. But she knew what to do. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

_6:25 pm_

_Who am I to argue with the universe?_

_Oliver Queen, I'll go on a date with you_

He came to her desk the next day grinning. "Hi!" He said cheerily as he sat down in front of her.

She looked at him amusedly. "You look happy for someone who just lost a computer, _Olivia_ ," She said.

He grinned even wider, if possible. "I look happy for someone who just got himself a date with his dream girl," He answered.

"I'm your dream girl?" She asked, smiling softly.

"Felicity Smoak, you are my dream girl," He answered.

She blinked. And then she whispered, "C'mere"

She grabbed his tie and tugged him closer and kissed him from across the table.

It would have been uncomfortable under normal circumstances but her brain couldn't focus on anything other than Oliver Queen's lips.

His lips were so soft and _wow_ , he really knew how to kiss a girl. Their lips moved in perfect harmony before things started getting more heated.

She broke the kiss and he looked abashed, but she got up from her place and walked to the other side of the desk where he was. She climbed onto his lap and wove her arms around his neck and kissed him once more.

His one arm gripped her waist while the other cupped the side of her face. His tongue pushed against the seam of her lips and she opened them up for him. They kissed, tongues lapping.

When they finally broke apart, she was flushed and they were panting.

"That was...wow," She panted.

He gave her a quick kiss. "Wow," he agreed, smiling.

"So...where does this put us?" She asked, smiling.

"I believe this puts us at a restaurant at 8 today," He said, and he kissed her once more.

"Smooth," She murmured.

And as he pulled her against him once more, Felicity could not help but smile into his lips. Yeah, she could get used to this.  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked that! Leave some kudos and some comments and I can't wait to share more!
> 
> \- Iago_The_Backstabber


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